February 27, 2014. In testimony presented before the New York City Council Civil Service and Labor Committee, FPI’s James Parrott summarized several employment, wage and cost of living trends affecting low-wage workers in New York City. He noted that 37 percent of all wage-earners in the city are paid less than $15 an hour, and that half of all black and Latino workers are low-wage by this measure. Parrott discussed several groups of low-wage workers and suggested policy steps the City could take to raise the wage floor and improve economic conditions in low-income neighborhoods. Parrott’s testimony also summarized academic research on the benefits to employers and communities from raising wage standards.